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Three dogs and 26 Lynden employees participated in the American Cancer Society's Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk in October in Anchorage. Lynden was a 'silver' sponsor of the event - donating $1,500, and the team raised an incredible total of $7,606. Lynden was the top fundraising team at the event, which drew about 2,000 people out for a great cause. "It was a beautiful day for a walk. I know we had at least two breast cancer survivors on our team," says Jeanine St. John, Vice President of Lynden Logistics. Team captain Dani Camden of Lynden Air Cargo spearheaded the tie-dye shirts and lunches and breakfasts for fundraising. Lynden International warehouse lead Leo Lopez drew a special logo for the team.

Lynden International’s Chicago and Anchorage teams put together a charter move for the U.S. Coast Guard this summer to deliver radio equipment to various points in Alaska. Eighty-two crates of Motorola equipment were flown from Chicago to Anchorage and were then transported via Lynden Air Cargo Hercules to Kodiak and Juneau while the rest of the cargo was distributed across Alaska. “The move was flawless,” says Jason Hiti-Shannon, Chicago Operations Manager.

“Chris Thallemer, Robert Kokoszka and I went over at midnight to meet the chartered 747 on the field in Chicago to oversee the loading for the flight to Alaska. In Anchorage, we had two Lynden Air Cargo planes waiting to carry a portion of the freight to Juneau and Kodiak. I can’t say enough about the folks in Anchorage pulling off the various transfers and deliveries. It was a great team effort and resulted in a very happy customer.”

Lynden drivers were behind the wheel at the Alaska Trucking Association’s (ATA) 14th Annual Truck Driving Championships May 11 in Anchorage. Professional drivers must complete a written exam, a pre-trip inspection and an obstacle course as part of the rigorous competition.

Lynden Transport driver Jack Sorensen took second place in the 5-axle Day Cab division and driver Tom Martin placed second in the Flatbed class. Brian Ambrose of Alaska West Express also competed as did Lynden Chairman Jim Jansen. Jim was part of a team called the “Desk Bound Geezers” made up of Wilbur O’Brien of Alaska Freight Lines, John McDonald of Carlile and Richard Assay of Assay Trucking. Wilbur took first place, Jim second and John and Richard, third and fourth, respectively. “Wilbur is one of the original Alcan drivers who drove for Alaska Freight Lines,” Jim says. “He drives Old No. 27 around Alaska for us, plus other projects for Lynden. He is an honorary Lynden employee and a great friend to us."

“What a team!” begins a letter from Drew McLaughlin of Marsh Creek, LLC to Chairman Jim Jansen. The letter goes on to praise Lynden Transport employees for exemplary service during a months-long project for Marsh Creek hauling soil from Prudhoe Bay to Anchorage. Marsh Creek is cleaning up contaminated soil around an old test well at the former Umiat Air Force Station in the Arctic Circle. Lynden hauled more than 100 truckloads from the remote site which is 140 miles from Deadhorse.

“Placing the equipment in this setting, staging it and keeping up with the demands of our normal Anchorage, Fairbanks and Prudhoe Bay lanes was challenging but Jack Morad and our operations group planned in advance for this project. They did a fantastic job of meeting Marsh Creek’s needs while keeping our other customers’ supply chains flowing,” says Matt Malone, Account Executive in Anchorage. Umiat is known as one of the coldest places in the U.S. At times, temperatures at the job site plunged to 60 degrees below zero. According to Matt, Marsh Creek operators tore a steel loader bucket while digging dirt out of the frozen ground.

“I would like to thank the whole Lynden road, yard, administrative and management teams in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Prudhoe Bay for their outstanding efforts and expertise in teaming, communication, customer assistance and respect. They provided not just a needed service but a valuable resource that allowed us to meet our budget and schedule without any incidents, accidents or near-miss events,” Drew writes. “Kindest thanks for all your team provides to us and for the great customer service that always goes with it.”

Lynden Transport Account Manager Sam Amato took the photo below during a project for customer Marsh Creek. Lynden moved 160-plus loads of contaminated soil from Franklin Bluffs near Prudhoe Bay to Anchorage. The soil is coming in via cat train. “The soil originates in Umiat, AK and is hauled on a two-day trip via the cat train to Franklin Bluffs,” Sam explains. “They bring in around 80 bags per train to Franklin for us to haul. This was a large project and we hauled about 50 loads north to get it started.” For two years prior to this project, Lynden was busy hauling the “cat” train to Prudhoe Bay for the customer. The cat equipment is custom built in Ohio and Edmonton.

Each year, Lynden Transport partners with the Alaska Railroad to move huge blocks of ice from Fairbanks to downtown Anchorage for the annual Crystal Gallery of Ice Carving Competition. “The ice, called Arctic Diamond, is highly prized for its clarity,” explains Paul Friese of Lynden Transport in Anchorage.

The Lynden truck above was sculpted by a Chinese championship team in appreciation of Lynden’s contribution to the ice carving event each year.

Once the blocks are cut they are loaded onto Lynden trailers at the harvest site. Lynden’s Fairbanks employees transport the pieces, measuring approximately 3 feet by 6 feet and weighing from 3,500 to 5,000 pounds each, to the Alaska Railroad where the trailers are loaded onto flat cars for the trip to Anchorage. Once they arrive in Anchorage, the trailers are offloaded from the flatcars and the Lynden team hauls them to the event site.

The Crystal Gallery of Ice is an annual event organized by the Anchorage Downtown Partnership, Ltd. and hosted in Anchorage’s Town Square. "Our site manager made a point of telling me how wonderful Operations Supervisor Andy Collins was to work with during the delivery of the ice for this year’s event", says Cheri Spink, Events and Development Director of Anchorage Downtown Partnership, Ltd. "This has been true of my experience working with Paul Friese and the Lynden staff over the past seven years. Lynden Transport is a great community partner and an integral part of the success of the Crystal Gallery of Ice."

Congratulations to Lynden Transport Account Manager Matt Malone and wife Kristen for their second place win in the Associated General Contractors (AGC) chili competition in Anchorage. Three prominent Anchorage chefs and chili judges awarded Matt’s Transport Chili second place out of 20 entries.

Photo: Chili cook-off winners - Matt Malone is on the far right

Photo: Chili cook-off judges (credit: www.agcak.org)

It was Matt’s first time at a cook-off, and he said he was not expecting to place that high. “We were very surprised,” he says. Matt and Kristen won a night’s stay at the Hotel Captain Cook. The recipe is printed below if you’d like to make Transport Chili at home

Begin browning the beef, then add the onions and simmer. Add the sausage and bell peppers and simmer. Add the rest of the ingredients except the Laughing Cow cheese wedges. Simmer for a couple hours and at the end fold in 6 to 8 Laughing Cow cheese wedges. Matt likes the garlic and herb or the sundried tomato. For the cook-off he used four of both, which makes a full crock pot of chili. Matt also added 4 tablespoons of butter at the end for good luck. It worked!